FMT
August 22, 2020
10:00 AM
A scramble among
sports officials to be in the Malaysian contingent to the Tokyo Olympics next
year is expected to begin soon, even as athletes toil hard to qualify on merit.
Are the interests
of athletes given consideration when officials are chosen to accompany the
teams?
Will freeloaders be
part of Team Malaysia?
In the past,
Malaysian teams to the Olympics have included some incompetent officials in the
mix, causing despondency among athletes.
The rescheduled
Tokyo Olympic Games will be held from July 23-Aug 8. Twelve athletes have
qualified, but Malaysia is hoping to send a contingent of between 30 and 35.
It is logical that
the contingent includes coaches and technical officials, or in some cases
parents who have been instrumental in getting their children to qualify, but
this is not always the case.
The selection of
officials depends on the number of athletes who have qualified, and by the
gender of the participants.
The International
Olympic Council (IOC) has the final say on officials escorting athletes, the
number of which should not exceed 50% of sportspersons in the party.
Malaysian officials
are chosen by the national sports association from which an athlete has
qualified. The name is submitted to the Olympic Council of Malaysia for
endorsement.
Depending on the
number of athletes from their sport who have made the grade, the associations
usually name a team manager and coach.
If they are allowed
only one official, a team manager is sometimes named, and this is where the
problem lies – athletes prefer a coach or technical expert.
There have been
cases when officials have been rewarded with a trip to the Olympics at the
expense of an athlete’s interests.
The 50% quota of
officials accompanying athletes has also been abused because accreditation is
transferable.
Since most sports
are not held at the same time, athletes and officials are only sent to the
Games a few days before the start of their events. The IOC allows the
accreditation of officials who have returned to be transferred to officials of
other sports.
However, the total
number of accreditations cannot exceed that allocated to a nation.
At the Rio Olympics
in 2016, Malaysia competed in 11 sports, represented by 32 athletes. The
contingent included 40 officials.
Besides team
managers, coaches and technical experts, officials also included the medical
team and secretariat staff, all of whom were billeted in the Games Village.
The National Sports
Council and National Sports Institute sent ‘back-up teams’ who operated from
outside the Games Village at their own cost.
They provided
services to the athletes either where they were or visited the Games Village
using day passes.
Then, there have
been cases where questionable officials were part of the contingent.
In one case, an
athlete convinced OCM to include a technical staff, who played a key role in
his qualification, in addition to his coach, although a team manager had been
nominated.
An unpleasant
encounter involved a manager who had arrived ahead of an athlete and made no
effort to meet him and his coach at the airport.
Officials who
arrive before their athletes are common because they want to take part in the
opening ceremony parade.
At Rio, while all
the athletes could take part in the parade, IOC only allowed 14 Malaysian
officials
However, since some
athletes skipped the opening ceremony owing to events the next day, officials
were in full force.
Some officials
hardly spent time with the athletes or were not around when needed. Those who
had dedicated officials by their side performed well.
It is hoped sports
associations will take the interest of athletes at heart and stop rewarding
officials to gain votes at their next election.
BLOG VERSION
Tony Mariadass Column Aug 22
Officials with integrity and honesty need to accompany athletes to Olympics.
Standfirst: The
scramble for officials to join the bandwagon to Olympics will begin soon.
Athletes who make it
to the Olympics must put in a lot of work to qualify on merit but it's not the
same for officials who have carte blanche to jump on the bandwagon.
There have been
numerous occasions when the ‘right officials’ have not accompanied the athletes
who has qualified for the Olympiad and this nasty habit must stop,
The Tokyo
Olympics, originally scheduled for July 24 till Aug 9, 2020, had to be
rescheduled to July 23 till Aug 8, 2021 due to deteriorating situation of
the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide. However, the Games will retain the Tokyo
2020 name.
To date, 12
Malaysian athletes have qualified for the Olympics but Malaysia is hoping to
send a contingent of between 30 to 35 to Tokyo. And it's only logical that the
athletes’ coach, technical official or in some cases parents who have been
instrumental in getting their son/daughter to qualify, are included in the
contingent to the Olympics, but this is not always the case.
The number of
officials to accompany any athlete in any sport depends on the number of
athletes who have qualified and the composition of the athletes’ gender and the
number is determined by the International Olympic Council (IOC).
The standard IOC rule
in naming officials accompanying athletes will not exceed more than 50 per cent
of the total number of the athletes’ contingent.
Malaysian officials
who accompany athletes who have qualified is determined by the respective
National Sports Association (NSA) and submitted to the Olympic Council of
Malaysia (OCM) for endorsement.
Under normal
circumstances, OCM endorses the officials the NSAs have nominated to accompany
the athletes but there have been times when the OCM do question the choice if
they find that the official picked to accompany the athletes will not be of any
assistance.
But inevitably the
OCM will bow to the wishes of the NSAs.
Normally, NSAs,
depending on the number of athletes from their sport who have qualified and the
number of officials allocated by the IOC, name a team manager and coaches and
their allocation of an official if only allocated one, normally a team manager
is named.
This is where the
problem lies because the athletes will surely prefer their coach or technical
personnel to accompany them.
There have been cases
when NSA officials have been rewarded with a trip to the Olympics at the
expense of a coach or technical person for the athlete.
Although the quota of
officials accompanying athletes to an Olympics is supposed to be less than
50 per cent of the number of athletes, it normally exceeds, as the
accreditation for officials is transferable.
Since most sports do
not compete at the same time or for the whole duration of the Games, athletes
and officials are only sent to the Games a few days before the start of their
events and return a day after.
The IOC allows the
accreditation of officials who have returned to be transferred to officials of
other sports by cancelling the earlier accreditation. However, the total number
of accreditation at any time cannot exceed the total number allocation to a
nation.
For example, for the
Rio Olympics in 2016, Malaysia competed in 11 sports and were represented by 32
athletes and 40 officials.
Officials besides
team managers, coaches or technical experts, also include the Medical team and
secretariat. The whole contingent is billeted in the Games Village.
Then, we also have
the National Sports Council (NSC) and National Sports Institute (NSI) who send
additional ‘back-up teams’ who stay outside the Games Village at their own cost
and provide services to the athletes either at where they stay or visit the
Games Village using ‘day passes’.
There have been cases
where the integrity and honesty of officials to serve the athletes have been
questioned.
One case was when an
athlete pleaded with OCM to include a technical staff who had been part of this
team and played a key role in the athlete qualifying for the Games, but had
been left out by the NSA. The athlete had a coach accompanying, but
wanted the technical staff. The NSA had listed a team manager instead.
OCM gave in to the
request of the athlete in the best interest of the athlete to perform. The team
manager also accompanied.
Then, there was an
instance when a manager who had arrived ahead of the athlete, made no
effort to meet the athlete at the airport and the athlete and his coach arrived
early in the morning midway during the Games and were left to fend for
themselves and take the common transport to the Games Village.
Obviously the athlete
let his disappointment be known to the secretariat at the Games Village upon
arrival.
Officials who arrive
before their athletes are common because they want to take part in the march
past during the opening ceremony.
For the opening
ceremony all competing athletes are allowed for the march-past, but there is a
quota for officials determined by the IOC.
For the Rio Games, only
14 officials were allowed. While the full quota for athletes was not taken up,
as some skipped the opening ceremony because they were in action the next day,
while some had not arrived. But the quota for officials was fully taken up.
Then we have officials
who hardly spend time with the athletes or are around when the athletes need
them.
Of course there are
the dedicated officials who are at the service of their athletes 24 hours and
it is not surprising that it is these athletes who perform well.
The race for officials to travel once
the final list of qualified athletes has been determined, and it is hoped that
NSAs take to heart the welfare and interest of their athletes and not to reward
their officials to gain votes for their next election.
Ends.
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